


How long

by JesterFesta



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: HyungHyuk - Freeform, I don't even know anymore, Like really slow, M/M, Soulmate AU, and then a very quick ending because I suck at it, mentions of hyungwonho, one-sided joohyuk, slow built
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 04:19:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14012049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JesterFesta/pseuds/JesterFesta
Summary: In which Hyungwon keeps looking for his soulmate to make that damn timer on his wrist run again.In which Minhyuk is the way he always is.





	How long

**Author's Note:**

> [No this is not really inspired by Hyungwon's How Long choreo but the title is nice so why not]  
> That soulmate AU nao and I need but nobody knew where to start so here I am, here you are, welcome, sit down and enjoy the mess. Maybe. I'm sorry for the abrupt ending.

 

“That would be seven ninety-nine, sir”, the cashier said from behind the counter with a polite smile and he rummaged around his pockets to hand her whatever money his pale fingers could grasp, letting her do the counting. The smile received a tiny crack but he wouldn't be the first to make her do this and he would most definitely not be the last. Life was so long. “Have a nice day!”

He didn't give her more than a hum and a short nod, looking her in the eyes one last time. Nothing. _It's not her._ With a disappointed hiss, he almost threw the eggs, milk and peanut butter he had just bought into his bag and left the small shop.

The huge street was filled with people, the sound of cars, chatter ringing through the air to create the perfect urban surrounding when it all mixed with the smells of food, waste gas and spring. _Right, it's spring again_ , he thought, fingers clenching around the bag's strap. How many springs had he witnessed now? What year was it? He kicked the nearest pebble only to send it flying against the next post box where it dropped to the ground. Useless. Without moving forward.

Just like him.

He was twenty-four when his timer stopped. Twenty-four when he almost died from a panic attack because his heart skipped a beat. A very very long beat. _This is it_ , he had thought. _Cardiac arrest at the age of twenty-four._ But then it kept beating again. Kept him going. He had called his mother, sobbed into the tiny mic of his earphones to tell her something was not right. He told her he might be dying but she asked him to take a look at his wrist as if it would solve his problems. Today he wanted to laugh. His wrist _was_ the problem. The solution? Nowhere in sight, apparently.

He had to look for it.

For her or him who would make the timer run again. And as long as the life clock on his wrist didn't run, he had to. From place to place, country to country, run and hope for a sign. He had been determined, oh so determined to find that person. It had been years since then and nothing had happened. Nothing had changed. Like that pebble on the ground he stayed in place while the world kept moving around him, while Earth turned and turned, day after day. He remained.

What year was it? He didn't care unless people asked. He didn't want to know.

All he knew was that his timer was not moving and he couldn't fucking figure out how to make it run again. He had tried everything. Speed dating, changing jobs over and over again, writing letters, going to bars, clubs, everywhere. Not even the invention of the internet had helped. It had been a ray of hope at first, people who had the same problem as him appearing one after the other. Soon, there were websites all over the place and it wasn't until then that finally everybody knew.

Your timer could actually stop. It was just not talked about before that, most parents believing it was better to not pressure their child to find their soulmates. Until those websites appeared it was common belief among the youngest generation that the timer just showed your remaining lifespan. But it was more, so much more. It was not just when, but _how_ you lived. Everything included in those tiny digits on your wrist for a reason nobody knew.

And he was proof of that.

They said the dream you dream the night after your timer stops contains a hint to your soulmate. Well, this only happens to the one whose time stops first but you won't know if it's you. What a fucked up system. His dream had literally been about him putting peanut butter into his coffee. Peanut butter. He had tried it the day after, it tasted horrible and he never tried again. Then again, how was he supposed to find somebody with a hint so shitty? Was it even a hint? Maybe his dream was broken or something. Maybe it wasn't even a soulmate related dream because he wasn't the first of the two of them to have his time stopped.

He posted it all on the internet. But even with the help strangers tried to give him, the digits remained the same. Just the same. Walking home the same path. Walking up the same stairs. Stowing milk, eggs and peanut butter in the same place.

He was just about to take a look at his apartment when a loud noise cut through the silence making him flinch and he took out his phone, reading the message. Wow, that name hadn't appeared in forever.

_How are you? What are you doing?_

The young but old man wanted to laugh yet again, thinking of the pebble beside the post box as he typed along.

_Remaining as always. Still searching. But fine. You?_

Fine. Could you call it that?

_I'm at Ediya. Got reminded of you and was wondering how you were doing._

“It's been more than fifteen years and you still talk like there's only one. There's Ediyas everywhere you dumbass”, he groaned but knew what place was meant anyway. Another message appeared on his screen.

_Wanna meet up?_

Did he want to? Kind of. It wasn't like he had anything to do anyway.

_Be there in twenty._

Fifteen if he hurried a little. _Why hurry when you've got time?_ Because the other didn't. Because the other's life was moving forward, so he had to pretend his was as well.

So he moved.

Running in place.

A hamster in a hamster wheel.

 

“You haven't changed one bit!”, the man with dark brownish hair shouted through the entire coffee shop as soon as he spotted him, rising from his seat and literally grabbing everybody's attention.

“I told you I was still searching. And it's been, what, four years since we last met?”, he mumbled through clenched teeth, uncomfortable with the unwanted attention and scanning his opponent from head to toe. “Though I can see you're actually aging.” In front of him was an old friend of his, Changkyun. They had met almost two decades ago, both of them searching, both of their timers frozen, both of them lost due to lack of information. But Changkyun had been the lucky one showing him his wrist with a proud smirk. Tic-toc, the digits decreased. His dream had been about this exact coffee shop, its sign, its menu, a certain type of coffee. Reason was the love of his life had worked as a barista back then. _Peanut butter in my coffee_. “We can't all be immortal, Hyungwon.”

He just smiled in return. Chae Hyungwon the Immortal. What a sad title. Sad but painfully true. “I can't argue with that, gotta look fabulous for my destiny. Though I believe I might give them the silent treatment, they've been letting me wait for way too long.” He didn't know how he could talk about this issue so casually. This issue that literally defined his life. But this was Changkyun. Everything was easier when he shared it with Changkyun. How old was the shorter guy now anyway?

“You know you're not gonna be able to keep your shit together once you see them. You'll go fucking nuts.”

“All those years and you're still talking like that, act your age”, Hyungwon just retorted with a roll of his eyes, not replying to the actual statement.

“You're more than ninety years old, Hyungwon. You should be baking cookies for your cat like my grandma did at your age but here you are, looking fit as a fiddle.”

 

They kept talking for nearly an hour, catching up, then saying good-bye.

They rarely met up but it was fine. Changkyun's life was going on. Now he was the older one and Hyungwon was the little brother. By something like thirteen years in physical age. Yet Changkyun made up for it with the most childish personality ever. He was a breath of fresh air, no matter how much time passed and the fact that he remembered Hyungwon and just wanted to talk to him over a cup of coffee was great.

But at the same time, Hyungwon didn't have many other people left in his life anyway. He had had a boyfriend, long long ago when his timer was still running, when he was still moving. But then it stopped. And the explanation could only be that he hadn't found the one. His boyfriend had insisted that there must have been a mistake, insisted that maybe if only they tried hard enough they could make it work again.

But then, after a year, or was it two, the other's timer had stopped as well.

Hoseok had never contacted him again.

Hyungwon hoped he had lived a good life, how could he have hated him for what had happened? It wasn't anyone's fault they didn't work out after all. Fate was to blame.

He kept thinking about all those decades once he had said goodbye to Changkyun. All the friends, slowly drifting apart. He didn't have difficulties with getting along with different personalities and characters. Didn't find it hard to part ways either. It was something he had gotten used to. Nobody remained but him. The more time passed the more people he got to know.

An eccentric photographer who had been fascinated with Hyungwon's story, taking the same picture of him every year for twenty years while he grew older and older in front of his eyes.

A man with a heart so big he wanted to adopt every orphan in the world (metaphorically, Hyungwon hoped) and shower them with love but who was sent to the army by his parents, unable to disobey and going missing about thirty years prior.

A restaurant owner who had learned cooking in France and opened up a restaurant only to be uncovered as ex-member of a huge drug gang and sent to prison for his past.

A mechanic who had been working at the same gas station for ages, meeting his one true love in form of his new manager there coincidentally.

Neither of them were the answer to his problem. Peanut butter. How would that help him find his soulmate?

The world was a crazy place giving birth to crazy people who lived crazy lives. And they were all so different. Yet none of the people he had met were crazy enough, unbelievable enough to make his time start ticking again.

Hyungwon strolled down a couple of crowded streets. So many people and not the one for him. He walked past a couple of beggars, past a cute girl giving out ice cream at a shop, past an old couple sitting on a park bench. The digits didn't change. There was so much time left for him to spend on this world, meeting his soulmate would only shorten it all insignificantly. There were so many numbers on his wrist. Sixty-seven years, two-hundred and six days, twelve hours, two minutes and forty-one seconds.

When would that countdown start? It would start when them meeting became inevitable. Once it started running again it was only a matter of time and he'd just have to wait. But until when? How much longer would he have to wait? Waiting was all he had done for decades, no, he would try to find them on his own.

Chae Hyungwon the Immortal.

He had thought about letting it all go. Thought about falling down a set of stairs, running into a knife, getting himself beaten to death. All these thoughts had crossed his mind. But in the end he was too curious, he wanted to know. What that other person looked like. It would soon be a century he spent on this godforsaken planet. Who could possibly be worth the wait, especially when their hint was about something so stupid as putting peanut butter into one's coffee? They had to be stunning as fuck but Hyungwon didn't think anybody could impress him at this point. Were they female or male? He was quite sure he was rather attracted to men but who was he to conclude Fate thought the same? He was nobody. Nobody lost and forgotten through time.

He snorted, spinning around in a mass of people going to the nearby shopping mall, exiting the subway station, leaving for work, coming home, going about their daily lives. Whoever the person he was looking for was, he would give everything to see the little clock on his wrist move again. He tried to look into all the faces, hoped for a sign, anything. Twenty faces in one spin. Yet nothing stayed in his mind. Blurry splotches of skin and hair colors. Nothing else.

He spun once more. Just so he could finally know what it felt like. Moving forward. He closed his eyes and listened to all the vivid conversations passing by. So many people but not the one he needed.

Many people were afraid of dying. Sure, it meant leaving everything behind, but as he spent decade after decade, watched people change, left people behind, met new ones and then left – he missed having no end in sight. There was no goal to arrive at. If the path is endless there's no thrill, no need to accomplish anything. No wish to be remembered whatsoever.

Hyungwon just wanted to have somebody who wouldn't leave him after a decade or two, even if it meant getting older and eventually dying. He'd have had a purpose. “Then why are you standing around not doing anything?”, he growled at himself opening his eyes and spinning around once more. All those faces he had never seen before. And probably wouldn't ever see again. “So many people”, he whispered, “but not the one I-” He stopped, feeling dizzy all of a sudden and holding on to the closest bench and sitting down.

_So many people._

His chest hurt. Clenched painfully. Hyungwon bent over with a gasp, burying his hands in his hair and clenching his teeth.

And then his heart skipped a beat.

_So many people._

He ripped his eyes open. _Cardiac arrest at the age of twenty-four. Only about sixty-eight years later._ History was repeating itself. For a moment Hyungwon thought he was going to pass out but then the little thing in his chest started beating again. Faster. Faster. Going a hundred miles in a second. Hyungwon stared at the gray stones to his feet unable to move for a couple of seconds when the pain subsided. More and more until everything was back to normal, only blood rushing in his ears drowning out the city noise.

It had been just like when- “It can't be.” He was panting, loosening the grasp on his hair to have a look at his wrist. Forty. Thirty-nine. Thirty-eight. Thirty-seven.

_So many people. And there had been the one he needed._

“My soulmate.” Realization finally dawned to him, voice suddenly bursting out of him. “My soulmate is here!” Many people flinched at his sudden outburst but nobody really cared to stop. It wasn't their cup of tea. And Hyungwon realized that was his problem. Nobody stopped. He had found his soulmate, well, he had _seen_ them but they were one out of maybe a hundred people surrounding him right now. He couldn't find them if they kept moving. Their eyes must have met but did it have as big as an impact on them as on Hyungwon? When Changkyun had found his soulmate there was nothing but an itch in his chest. Maybe it depended on how much time you had to spend with your time frozen, researchers were not quite sure about the phenomenon.

Thirty. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight.

So this was what it felt like. Moving forward. Loosing time. Loosing opportunities.

He had to act quickly so Hyungwon stepped into the view of the first person walking past him, a woman in her late twenties. “Excuse me but did you feel uncomfortable right now? Like, did your heart ache or did you get dizzy or something?”, he asked out of the blue but she just frowned and shook her head, quickly grabbing the hand of a man walking next to her and throwing Hyungwon another unsure glance.

 _Are you mental, Hyungwon? Start filtering before you start running._ He ran towards everybody he could see who was not obviously walking around with their significant other. It made it easier but it was still impossible to ask everybody in time before his soulmate disappeared into nothingness.

“Excuse me, did you feel somewhat uncomfortable within the last five minutes?”, he asked for the umpteenth time and the boy in front of him, like everybody else, shook his head with huge eyes that were scanning Hyungwon's face with something calculating to them. Suddenly, a blinding smile appeared on his face.

“No, why? Is this some TV prank? I'm up for it, how should I react?”

“What, no!” Hyungwon was already looking for the next person to ask. “I need to find somebody who felt weird and will go drink coffee with me, that's it.”

“Why would you- oh, is it a soulmate thing? You know, last month, my friend-”

“I don't have time!”, he interrupted impatiently, half-heartedly bowing his head and leaving for the next person to ask. “I need to find them!”

There was nobody around who seemed to have felt queasy, nor did anybody look like they had anything to do with peanut butter or coffee. It was hopeless. Maybe if he posted in a chat for this area, he could-

“Excuse me, did you feel uncomfortable in the past couple of minutes? Like something is wrong in your chest or did you feel dizzy or something?” Hyungwon looked up when his ears picked up on the voice from seconds ago, the young man he had asked before now going around asking strangers the exact same questions. A negative reply and he moved on to another person.

“W-what are you doing?”, Hyungwon interfered blinking furiously. Why was he asking Hyungwon's questions?

The other turned around with a face that screamed 'duh' and raised a brow with a smile. “I'm helping you, stupid. Go, I don't know, over there and ask those people. Hurry, we don't have time, right? I'm Minhyuk, nice to meet you.” He pointed into a completely different direction and Hyungwon needed a moment to catch on, finally nodding and running off. Minhyuk? What a common name, the last time he had heard it its owner had been a dancer at a club he frequented. There were many more Minhyuks he knew but Hyungwon had to focus. That guy was trying to help him.

He could do this.

He could find whoever had made him all dizzy and weak.

He would make it or he wouldn't be Chae Hyungwon the Immortal. Oh, wait, he'd have to give that up so soon, huh?

He didn't care. Then he'd just be Chae Hyungwon the Mortal. Breaking out of his hamster wheel.

 

 

***

 

 

It wasn't until fifteen minutes later that the nameless and freaked out dude stopped in the middle of the big plaza, head hanging low. Minhyuk pushed his dark red hair back with a sigh. He had asked around, had really tried to be of help, up for the thrill and victim to his curiosity. But it seemed like neither of them had found the person the nameless dude was looking for.

He raised his head and his eyes locked on Minhyuk in an instant shaking his head and walking up to him. “It's of no use”, he whispered over and over again, eyes wide and desperate. “They're gone.”

“Maybe they didn't feel anything”, Minhyuk suggested suppressing a shrug. The other looked just so devastated. “If their timer wasn't stopped before nothing might have changed for them. You should come back here tomorrow, same time. Maybe if you put up signs and ask around for a while you can find them. Come on, cheer up man, just wait-”

“I've been waiting for years”, a quiet sob interrupted his word flow. _Years._ Minhyuk pressed his lips together, clenching his fists. Years were hard to endure waiting for a soulmate. He glanced at his own wrist where time was ticking second after second. Sixty-nine years and a bit more. His timer hadn't ever stopped, he used to calculate it every time before and after he went to crowded places. Afraid to miss them. Afraid to accidentally walk past the person he was destined to be with. But then again, a timer wouldn't start running again unless it was clear the two people would get closer at some point in the future. Be it minutes, days or months. Once your timer was running you were getting there. Like a game of hit the pot. Why was the guy in front of him not realizing that?

“You don't happen to want to go for a coffee? My treat.”

What kind of question was _that_ now? Minhyuk licked his lips and typed a message to Jooheon that their video call would have to wait. “I don't really like coffee to be honest. Bitter as fuck. Ice cream?”

The nameless who was later revealed to be named Hyungwon didn't have enough power to decline. So they went to eat ice cream and have a more or less civilized conversation that didn't involve a time limit and Minhyuk got to properly introduce himself.

 

Lee Minhyuk was a little over the top. No, saying that would in all honesty be a horrible understatement. His friends used to describe him as an insufferable ball of light that enjoyed jumping around, annoying the hell out of people and pillow fights. He couldn't say they were wrong. He used his excess energy on playing with children most of the time these days. That or training dogs. He loved both because it included lots of moving and cheerfulness. Oh and he also loved going to clubs to dance around with other people he didn't know. He had to change clubs thrice because there would always be someone else called Minhyuk there. But Lee Minhyuk wanted to be unique, he couldn't stand sharing his name.

“So you were born-”

“Twenty-five years ago”, Minhyuk confirmed with a cheerful nod, fingers curled around the gigantic glass of ice cream in front of him.

“Changkyun and now you, every cheerful person I know is physically older than me”, Hyungwon mumbled with something like a pout. Despite Minhyuk's big gestures and loud voice he had remained calm and listened when the other just started talking on and on, not even giving Hyungwon time to properly introduce himself.

“Physically? Okay, so you are-”

“Twenty-four until today.”

“And since you were born it has been-”

“Ninety-two years.”

“Ninety-two, okay that's- _ninety-two_?!” Minhyuk dropped his spoon with a clunk, mouth falling open and refusing to close again. _Ninety-two minus twenty-four. That means-_ “You've been frozen for sixty-eight years.”

Hyungwon's frown deepened when he nodded, glancing at his wrist. “Funny how it's almost the same time remaining until my death, huh? You get used to it. It's very unsettling at first but the more you experience, the more...Minhyuk? Hey, Lee Minhyuk?”

He waved a hand in front of the red-haired to get a reaction out of him but it still took him another few seconds to get himself together. “And here my friend was all about fearing to go a year without finding his soulmate”, he managed to breathe.

“Your friend must be an optimistic person”, Hyungwon chuckled, really _chuckled_ in reply. This was why he had reacted so intensely earlier. Yeah, the timer moving meant that he would meet what was destined to be his anytime now but he had been waiting for so long. Decades. More than half a century.

“Jooheon is a crybaby”, he just mumbled quietly, dark eyes not leaving Hyungwon's face when suddenly his mind started working again. “Look, maybe there's some sort of security cam footage from the plaza we can access? I don't know how it would help but maybe we can find somebody in there you remember seeing, that could be a start.” He squinted. “Yes and then if we ask around via message boards, we should be able to-”

“I appreciate your efforts, Minhyuk”, the taller interrupted with a smile while his eyes remained dark and unpredictable. “But it's as you said. I will meet them somehow, I'll just have to be patient for a little longer. Fate will now do the rest, you don't need to concern yourself with something like my problems.”

“It's been generations”, Minhyuk retorted again shaking his head, “you deserve to find them as soon as possible. Right, what was your dream about?”

The other let out a snort at that. “My dream? Don't know if it was even meant for me, I was drinking a cup of coffee. Go ahead, laugh with me.”

Realization dawned to Minhyuk when he kept staring at the resigned smile. _You don't happen to want to go for a coffee?_ That's why he had asked. Just to be sure. Minhyuk didn't know how he should feel about the fact that Hyungwon had considered him a possible soulmate. Or about the fact that he didn't qualify.

It's not like he would mind being soulmates with a man, hell, people's sexuality was as fluid as water, but he was still surprised. It just didn't cross his mind ever since Jooheon's timer stopped three months ago.

So he inspected all of Hyungwon's features again. The pale skin, hair like dark chocolate, plump lips, one ear not looking like the other, slender built and very long legs. When they had been standing next to each other earlier he had to tilt his head back to look him in the eyes. _What a model_ , Minhyuk huffed in his head. How was somebody looking like him with a story so incredible not famous yet? He would have made the perfect person for all those sappy broadcasts about finding your soulmate. But then again...

“It must have been lonely”, Minhyuk uttered before he could stop himself, picking up the spoon he had dropped earlier.

“Excuse me?”

“All those years”, Minhyuk clarified, piercing Hyungwon's eyes to extract as much information from his reactions as possible. He was a master at that. “You had so much time, probably a lot of good career opportunities as well. Maybe you had company on your way, a few lovers here and there? But in the end-”

“I know.” Hyungwon sighed, the last spoonful of ice cream finding its way to his lips. “I know my own life. It's a long story. Slightly depressing maybe. But it is mine and mine alone. You were saying 'in the end' but there was no end. Until now.” Another glance at his wrist, tender and affectionate in a way. “It's getting closer. You wouldn't understand that feeling, I don't expect you to.”

Minhyuk pressed his lips together, breathing calmly with his arms crossed. “So you really don't want me to help you.”

The other stood up and stretched his back a little before sighing once more. “Thank you for trying, Minhyuk, but I'll be able to do it on my own. I meet people like you every other week but then it gets boring for them and they leave me on my own anyway, so don't waste your time, yeah? It was nice meeting you.” And with that he picked up his bag and left, Minhyuk shooting up from his chair but the slender young man did not stop nor look back. He literally stood Minhyuk up in front of a huge bowl of ice cream.

_I meet people like you every other week._

Minhyuk hated being just like some random 'people', he hadn't switched clubs to keep being called one of many. He wanted to be a unique, special snowflake in every matter.

_Don't waste your time, yeah?_

His expression twisted into a cunning smirk when he took out his phone. “Trust me, I won't.”

 

 

***

 

Hyungwon went to that very spot every day. Whenever he could. He had put it all up on message boards but to no avail. Again. All he could do was sit and stare at everybody hoping to be sent another sign, anything. People came and left, never returning. How would Fate get them together from now on? That was the most interesting question to him then. What would change that he's get closer with somebody who just happened to pass by here on a random day?

It wasn't until two weeks later that Hyungwon spotted a familiar face among the unknown though it was not a face he actually needed to see. It was Lee Minhyuk. What brought him here? He stared at his sharp features, cheekbones, jawline, piercing gaze. Eyes that crinkled as soon as he started talking to some random passerby.

Hyungwon buried his hands in his pockets and came closer, seeing him hand out little cards. Not quite a business card, not a flyer, something in between. “What are you doing?”, he asked eyeing the card things but Minhyuk didn't look at him and just kept handing them out with a smile.

“I've been doing good, thank you, I would ask you but you don't seem to care”, he mumbled to no one in particular instead and Hyungwon cleared his throat.

“Sorry, I was just surprised to see y- wait.” He snatched a card from Minhyuk's hand to find his own name written on them.

Chae Hyungwon.

Tall as a beanstalk. Likes to drink coffee.

Has been frozen for sixty-eight years, looking for soulmate! Help appreciated.

Check out this post for more detail.

And a link to Hyungwon's very own blog entry was put below the letters. This was Minhyuk's doing? “What is this...?”

“It took them long enough to print these, I swear I told them to hurry but-”

“No but what _is_ this?”, Hyungwon repeated and Minhyuk finally turned to look at him, smile falling for a second before it was back again, stronger than ever and blinding Hyungwon.

“I'm doing what I can for you! I feed on ramyun for the next two weeks because I printed so many! I can tell you're not making any progress with your character description on all those websites. You're far too passive. Maybe it's an age thing but-”

“M-Minhyuk you're rambling”, Hyungwon interrupted with a few blinks to get himself together. “I...don't know what to say.”

“Thank you would be a start. Now here, take these and hand them out if you will.”

He was given a pile of cards and looked at them for another ten seconds. “You know, _tall as a beanstalk_ is not exactly what one would use when objectively describing my height, shorty-”

“I'm not going to argue about that with you.”

“A-alright...?”

They started handing out the card thingies again but, of course, nobody gave them so much as a glance. Half an hour and the batch Minhyuk had brought along for the day (for the _day_ how many did he print??) was gone so they settled with Hyungwon's idea of going to the nearest café. The beanstalk ordered an iced americano, the red-haired shorty went for tea as coffee, Hyungwon recalled, tasted _bitter as fuck_ to him. Well, he couldn't oppose that.

“What if your soulmate was, like, absolutely not your type?”, Minhyuk asked on a side note at some point and Hyungwon leaned back with a hum.

“There's nobody who didn't fall for their soulmate sooner or later. I'd just go with it, anybody would be fine at this point, I guess.”

“Ew, low standards”, Minhyuk joked, scrunching up his nose and looking hilarious so they both had to laugh just a little bit. “I want to give them a beating.”

“Why? For making me wait?”

“Uhm, _no_? For making me spend money on flyer stuff for them!”

“I...nobody forced you to?”

“Shut up and let me hold a grudge”, the other pouted crossing his arms, the playful glint never leaving his eyes and Hyungwon chuckled yet again. Minhyuk was as easy-going as Changkyun and he enjoyed that, wanted to keep that kind of company. But once Minhyuk's timer stopped they would drift apart again, this time it would be Hyungwon growing older and older. His expression dulled at that thought.

“I hope your time never stops”, he whispered and Minhyuk's pout was replaced by genuine curiosity.

“What, why?”

“Just...you know, a thought.” He shrugged but Minhyuk started chewing on his lower lip.

“I want it to stop. So I know I didn't miss anybody I shouldn't have missed. I want to spend as much time with my soulmate as possible but how will I know until they find me? I can't start searching if my time doesn't stop.”

“You think you already met them?”, Hyungwon asked to clarify and the other nodded.

“I thought about the possibility. But then his time stopped, so it can't be.”

“I'm sorry to hear that. Were the two of you...?”

“Dating? No, no, he is my best friend”, Minhyuk laughed with big gestures but Hyungwon could easily tell the topic made him insecure so he let it go for the moment and they switched over to everyday topics. The weather, their jobs, their family. No deep things.

And then they separated, Minhyuk shouting a “See you next time” after him – Hyungwon couldn't believe he actually thought there'd be a next time.

 

Against his beliefs, there was a next time. And it was only three days later. To say Hyungwon felt somewhat relieved would be an understatement. He didn't think he could enjoy the company of yet another happy virus but it was somewhat reassuring, now that his time reduced by the second. It kept him motivated, didn't let him have negative thoughts. He would find his soulmate. He would find them.

That day they went to another coffee shop and there was a one plus one for americanos so Hyungwon ended up having two of those on his side of the table. Minhyuk frowned with a shake of his head, abandoning his ade to take one of the coffees. “I thought you didn't like coffee?”, Hyungwon mentioned with a raise of his eyebrows but Minhyuk only started rummaging around his bag until a little box was pulled out.

“I have a secret weapon for these cases.”

“Minhyuk...” Hyungwon blinked in confusion and hesitated as if wondering whether to tell the other or not. “Those are dog treats.”

“Wrong! This is the _box_ of dog treats.”

“Same difference?”

“Wrong again!” Minhyuk grabbed the cover and ripped it away dramatically like one of those Yu-Gi-Oh characters would draw a card only to reveal cubes and cubes of sugar.

“This...is your secret weapon? Sugar? You know, they have that here in the shop.”

The other pressed his lips together for a second. “I'm basically banned from taking sugar in coffee shops, they say I'm using it the wrong way.”

“It is just sugar, how bad can it-” Hyungwon stopped at once when Minhyuk dumped the entire box into the small cup of coffee. How many cubes were those, seven? “Oh.”

“Yeah, well, so much for that.” Yeah. So much for that. Hyungwon was too shook to keep the topic going. No wonder Minhyuk was as hyper as a squirrel on energy drinks twenty-four seven. “Now don't look at me like that”, he then laughed to dissolve the situation. Hyungwon couldn't believe the other to the extent that he actually broke out into a quiet giggle himself. Minhyuk had the taste buds of a child, it was cute to watch when he referred to the brown (and now way too sugary) liquid as _adult drink_. It was just cute.

“You should laugh more often”, Minhyuk said out of the blue, staring at Hyungwon with those eyes again. It was something about the look in them that made him feel worthy of attention yet horribly exposed. He didn't know why it affected him so much. “It makes your whole face go non-visual, I like it.”

“Non....visual?”

“You can't tell me you don't know you're handsome. The nation's visual, if you tried just a little more.”

“Eugh, give me a break. The sugar is messing with you-”

“Or am I messing with the sugar?”

“You are cancelled, Minhyuk. I'm off. See you...?” The question remained that way, hanging in the air and Minhyuk's pout vanished in an instant, making room for another blinding smile.

“Same time in five days! I have to work...” He made a face only to smile again. “See you!”

 

Hyungwon didn't know why but Minhyuk didn't get bored with trying to help him. They ran into each other quite a lot and even after all of the little card things had been handed out he stuck around. They exchanged phone numbers at some point and Hyungwon would have been pissed about anybody using this many emojis. Anybody but Minhyuk. It just belonged to him.

But what he _was_ pissed about was the _times_ the other texted him. Three at night? No problem, let's talk about the difference of cocoa and hot chocolate. Five? Who cares, learning to hiss like a cat is way more important anyway.

Day after day. They drank at that one plus one coffee shop quite often, Minhyuk emptying box after box of sugar into his cup but he said it was fine as long as Hyungwon was okay with it. And he was. Because that coffee shop started to grow dear to him, Minhyuk's non-stop talking making every day tiring but in a good way. He was so obviously fascinated by the work he was doing. Kids, dogs, sometimes both at the same time.

A month passed by and he managed to sweet talk (sugar, get it) Hyungwon into blind dates again. At least his soulmate's timer just _had_ to be running at the same time, there was no other option. “You'll just have to ask the right questions and if it's a no it's a no, how bad can it be?”, Minhyuk had said. He probably hadn't considered Hyungwon's disability to sell himself

“S-so, how do you make a living?”, the woman sitting across of him asked carefully while Hyungwon took out his phone and opened his contacts.

“I teach history from time to time at university but it's nothing permanent.” He went to Minhyuk's messages. _How's it going?!???_ 'She's superficial, I think.'

“Wait, so you don't have a job?”

“Not right now, no. I don't need it.”

“So you've got money? Sorry to ask like this, I'm just curious.”

“I don't have that much, it's just that I know how to spend it efficiently. You?”, he replied in boredom.

'Definitely superficial and I hope not my soulmate.' _Tough luck man._ 'come again' _Keep staring at ur screen and thank me later. And. Smile._ 'what'

Suddenly, emojis started flooding Hyungwon's text feed – hearts, laughter, rainbows, unicorns, dogs. Hyungwon tried hard and raised the corner of his mouth a little. Suddenly, an image popped up, a selfie of Minhyuk with the caption _you out? I'm lonely, come home soon, yeah?_

“What are you looking at?”, the woman's voice suddenly sounded from across the table and she leaned over too fast for Hyungwon to hide his screen. “Who is that?” Her voice suddenly had a sharp note to it when she snatched the phone from his hands and a new message popped up. “My friends want me to introduce you to them soon. When are you free?”, she mumbled with disbelief on her face. “You, wait, you have a _boy_ friend?”

“U-uh, I don't think this is what-”

“What an asshole!”, she exclaimed in horror and he tried to speak up again when she poured her water over him with a quick flick of her wrist. He was frozen as she typed something on his phone, threw it on the table, got up and left without a word.

A short moment of silence. Two or three, maybe. He then looked at his phone again. “He's cheating on you”, he read out with a whisper and scrolled through Minhyuk's messages. _He? Who is he?_ Then a bigger pause. Hyungwon didn't even hesitate and hit the call button.

“Is this my honey-boo Hyungwon?”, Minhyuk's sweet voice sounded at the other end of the line and Hyungwon wiped his face to get rid of the water droplets.

“Cut the crap, Lee, what the fuck.”

“Oh, so she left after typing that? What a bitch”, the other laughed, unable to stop himself for a good twenty seconds and Hyungwon waited (impatiently).

“Stop laughing your ass off and apologize. She poured her water over me.” There were other sounds audible, it sounded like a street, maybe. “You out?”

“Her water? Wow, rude. I saved you then.”

“Minhyuk.”

“Alright alright.” The sounds grew more and more distant and Hyungwon frowned when suddenly, someone appeared right next to him and he almost jumped out of his skin. “I'll grace you with my presence as an apology.”

“For fuck's sake, Minhyuk!” The other just grinned taking in Hyungwon's drenched shirt and hair before sitting down.

“I'll have to be your replacement date then, you didn't even eat yet, right?” It was exactly when he sat down that the food they had ordered arrived and Hyungwon didn't even flinch at the way the waiter eyed him curiously. “Naww, don't be all sulky!”  
“I'm not sulky.”

“Sure you aren't, let's eat!”

A sigh, a short massage for the temples and he was back to normal. At least he wouldn't have to spend the rest of the evening doing smalltalk.

 

“Did you ever go on a blind date?”, Hyungwon asked on their way to the bus stop Minhyuk had to get on at, facing forward.

A pensive hum. “Didn't think I'd need it, to be honest.”

“You didn't-” He broke off, the words sounding familiar in his head. “You said you didn't have a relationship before, right?”

“True, no such serious relationship in my life. And I should be glad.”

“Then what made you think you didn't need one?”

“I said it before, my best friend did.” Minhyuk stopped walking and Hyungwon watched his stance, how he had his hands buried in his pockets and eyes on the ground. “Jooheon did.”

Ah, that guy. He had been mentioned before. The crybaby, worried about not finding his soulmate any time soon. “His timer stopped. Right, I remember. You don't need to talk about it if you don't-”

“I'm good. Not that you'd be surprised by now, I guess. You've seen worse, I just...sometimes I wonder why I thought so much about it.” So he told Hyungwon a little more, calm and composed for once – showing that he was trying his best not to be caught up in emotions from then.

They had been the best of friends for more than ten years and Minhyuk couldn't say he never had gay thoughts about the other but that was about it. He was a rather touchy-feely person anyway no matter the opponent. After Jooheon's time had stopped and he dreamed of a zoo in some city of America that was all it took for Minhyuk to send him there. He didn't want to keep his best friend away from his destiny. Who was he to hold on to a mere fantasy anyway? So they parted and Minhyuk was on his own again. “But I still don't want to try blind dates”, he concluded, causing Hyungwon to frown.

“Why now?”

“Excuse me but look at you? I'm not keen on being thrown water into my face like a cat.”

“Well you practiced how to hiss like one about two weeks ago, I think you deserve it.”

“That's got nothing to do with the other!”

“Look at you getting all worked up, how cute is that?”, Hyungwon chuckled only to interrupt himself with a cough. What was he saying? “I-I mean, why are you so easy to tease these days?”

“Who knows?”, the other replied chewing on his lower lip. “Must be the changing weather that makes me moody.” What kind of weather would that be then?

 

The numbers on Hyungwon's arm kept decreasing. Second after second. Minute after minute. But why bother searching for your soulmate when you are busy with a sleepover at Minhyuk's place? Okay, it's not that Hyungwon had planned it to end up like that but – after Minhyuk went on and on about how he felt lonely now that Jooheon was gone and the skillful mention of a heatable blanket – he agreed nonetheless.

Another thing Hyungwon hadn't planned was getting caught up in an anime marathon Minhyuk started out of the blue, apparently making it his utmost priority to show introduce all of his favorites to Hyungwon in the shortest time possible. His head was spinning with names and alternate universes, how did Minhyuk remember all this but not the name of his newest kid at the kindergarten? A mystery, indeed.

Episode after episode. Anime after anime. Until Hyungwon and Minhyuk ended up as wrapped up bundles on the couch, Minhyuk's head on Hyungwon's thigh and eyes clouded with fatigue. Neither could tell whose idea the soju had been but it made them sleepy and pensive. “I like this character a lot”, Hyungwon mumbled referring to the male shown on screen; it was the lead of some cheesy romance thing. “I'd date him right away.”

“That dude? He's _so_ what I'd never go for”, Minhyuk replied scrunching up his face. “Definitely not my type.”

“He's completely different from you, no surprises here.”  
“I know right, why would you even consider dating him?”

Hyungwon thought about it for a while. “He's sweet. Very warm and welcoming. Calm and composed but has his moments of cuteness. He is-” He stopped abruptly chewing on his bottom lip. He shouldn't have thought about it so much but he had to finish his sentence, lowering his voice to a whisper. “He reminds me of my ex. I think.”

Minhyuk started and sat up to frown at him. „Ex? I thought you didn't want to lead them on-...oh, y-you meant-”

“Before my time stopped, yes”, Hyungwon finished with a sigh, still staring at the character on the screen. “I just wonder what happened to him from time to time. It was so weird to just, you know, let him go.”

“It was the right thing to do though”, Minhyuk mused, a weird twist to his mouth when he kept looking at the other before he let out a very deep sigh and buried his face in Hyungwon's shoulder. “It's better not to get attached when you know it's not right.”

“You're talking 'bout Jooheon now, huh?”

“I guess.” Hyungwon turned down the volume of the anime making it nothing but background noise as they just kept breathing, calming down and the alcohol seconds from throwing them into dreamland. “I don't want to get attached to you like I did with him”, Minhyuk then whispered only to chuckle quietly. “I don't even know what I'm saying, it's not like you even want us that close, do you? I'm selfish.”

Hyungwon couldn't quite grasp what the other was mumbling as he had to yawn but he blinked to stay awake. “Selfish? Why?”

“Nothing.” He was not let off the hook that easily, Hyungwon tugging at the shorter's hair until he gave up. “I just, you know, keep thinking. What if it's still me and you? But nothing matches, it wouldn't make sense. It doesn't...make sense that I like sticking around so much when there's no way of me finding your soulmate, right? I'm not even your type, obviously since you're into cavity inducing cute guys who drink coffee, haha.”

“Uh, yeah, what can I say, haha.” Hyungwon swallowed hard, then cleared his throat to get rid of the weird scratchy feeling. Where did these words come from all of a sudden? All these weeks and he still thought he might be- How weird. “I understand you don't want to get attached. It hurts.”

“Yeah.”

“We...should go to bed.”

“Carry me.”

“Ca-what, why?” The excuse of Minhyuk being tired didn't really achieve anything so they ended up not moving anywhere else at all, just lying on the broad sofa facing each other.

“You won't even carry me”, the red-haired pouted peeking at him with one eye.

“I'll make up for it sometime”, Hyungwon grumbled clawing at the cloth of his sweater.

“Do it now. Give me a good-night kiss.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me.” It was Hyungwon's turn to frown at the other but he had closed his eyes. It was half of a joke, Hyungwon had heard the mocking undertone. He hadn't meant it.

So he couldn't tell why he actually did it. Slowly leaning closer – there wasn't much distance between them anyway – and letting his lips fleetingly graze Minhyuk's. It wasn't even a peck but he knew he should have felt weird complying so easily. It didn't feel wrong. _Huh. How confusing._

_What if it's still me and you? But nothing matches, it wouldn't make sense._

Right it wouldn't make sense.

 

***

 

Three months since his timer started running again. Hyungwon never mentioned the _good-night kiss_ and since Minhyuk didn't either he thought the other might just have slept already, not even knowing about it. But that doesn't mean it was out of Hyungwon's mind, on the contrary. Round and round it went, days, weeks, a month even.

Because he enjoyed Minhyuk's company so much. Because as much as he wanted his search to end, he wanted them to stay just like that. Minhyuk might find his soulmate before him and that made it all worse. He might be left again.

But the more time they spent, the more he got to know Minhyuk...he just wanted the red-haired to find his destiny and settle down. Suddenly, he understood the struggle of not having a timer that stopped at some point. It was so much worse than knowing you had to search. “You should at least try to find someone you like”, Hyungwon said one day at the coffee shop, hands clutching at the paper cup. “It's no fun being lonely.”

“What's this all of a sudden?”, Minhyuk laughed in return stirring his sugary coffee with his straw. He always did when he was nervous or uncomfortable. “I'm doing good, I'm having a great time with you here, alright?”

“You know what I mean though”, he emphasized once more, frown deepening.

“I don't want to”, the shorter replied shaking his head. “I won't just date anyone I like because I just can't be sure. I know it's stupid to stay in my shell like this but I just...I'm not...ready.”

“Still Jooheon?”

A longer pause during which Minhyuk pulled his sleeves over his hands, looking incredibly small and young. “That's what I should be saying, yeah.”

Hyungwon could tell the other was closing up so he had to let it pass with a sigh. “How's he doing? Still didn't find the one?”

“Nope. But he'll wait. Good things come to those who wait.”

He huffed. “You think so, yeah?”

“I'm sure of it.” Minhyuk raised his eyes with a smile that was meant to be reassuring. “Just waiting a bit more and things get better.” It was obvious that neither of them believed they would only have to wait for _a bit_. It was hopeless anyway.

 

***

 

Three months and twenty-one days since Hyungwon had started aging again. More than two thousand and six hundred hours since he had finally started to move. Yet he didn't anticipate the oh so fateful meeting of his destiny anymore. How weird.

Three weeks since Hyungwon had told Minhyuk to go look for somebody to date and the latter had refused. Three weeks, yet it was that very evening Hyungwon received a text.

_Won? I...I have something to tell you. Coffee shop tomorrow?_

He hadn't replied in days now. Also...no emojis. How weird.

'Sure, what happened?? Is it your timer? You didn't stop right???'

_No._

'You finally found them?'

_I don't think so._

'Should I come over now?'

_No! No...I just want to meet you. Tomorrow._

Hyungwon stared at his phone for a good two minutes before typing a simple 'okay. See you tomorrow then' and going to bed. He didn't dream, didn't sleep well either. What was it Minhyuk wanted to talk about?

 

Well, whatever it was, Hyungwon had to wait for longer than usual. Minhyuk was late, sending a text from the bus that he was really really sorry and had overslept so he would be twenty minutes late. _Also, don't you dare leaving, if I don't say it... Just don't leave!_

“The hell is wrong with this guy”, Hyungwon muttered, unable to contain a chuckle. He did that a lot these days. Smile. Laugh. Minhyuk's antics were contagious it seemed.

Ten minutes. Five. Two... Minhyuk came running towards him, jacket, hair, bag, everything bouncing around with every step he took. “I'm-I-I'm sorry!”, he exclaimed completely breathless and panting so heavily Hyungwon feared he might pass out so he tried to support him but Minhyuk pushed him away. “No, I'm fine, I'm okay.”

“You...don't really look okay though-”

“I am! I just...Let's...l-let's go in, yeah?”

He didn't wait for a reply and went ahead ordering two americanos as always and plopping down on their favorite spot by the window. He looked...nervous. And tired. Hyungwon sat down opposite to him. “What's troubling you?”

“I told you I'm fine.” He smiled and it was surely meant to look confident but slipped as soon as Hyungwon shook his head. “I-I'm just...you know, I...need to talk to you about...well...”

“Minhyuk, if you don't say it by the time I count to three I'll slap you into the next dimension you're making me nervous as well-”

“I like you.”

Hyungwon fell silent on the spot, eyes round and big in surprise but Minhyuk didn't look at him, afraid of what he might see.

“ _Really_ like you. I know you're looking for your soulmate and I know it's about time you found them. I know you want me to look for mine as well and I want both of us to be happy with whatever fate has in store for us but I just...I thought so much about it since...since forever!”

Their americanos were brought to their table – the girl behind the counter knew them well enough by then – and Minhyuk started rummaging around in his bag to find the box for dog treats while rambling on and Hyungwon could just keep staring. Keep staring as he said all those words he had on the tip of his tongue himself.

“I worried so much about what the fuck I was doing to you and myself. I told you I didn't want to get attached to anybody I cannot be sure about but you make it feel so easy? I don't even know but I couldn't sleep for these past days, didn't eat much and worried so bad so I had to get it off my chest, you understand? I-I just hope nothing will change and...”

“Minhyuk.”

The red-haired swallowed and risked a glance only to find Hyungwon with his eyes closed. He only did that when he thought a lot. He didn't want to say anything wrong and that's when Minhyuk thought he had fucked up. “I'm sorry it turned out like this, I just can't-”

“No, Minhyuk. Let me talk now.” A frown etched itself into Hyungwon's forehead as if he was struggling himself. How weird. “I...Back when I slept over at your place? The anime marathon?”

“We drank too much, right?” He tried to laugh but it got stuck in his throat.

“I kissed you.”

A short silence passed between them before Minhyuk nodded. “I know.”

“You know?”

“ _You_ may be falling asleep within three seconds but _I'm_ not, Won. Yes, I know.”  
“You never said anything...”

“I figured you were uncomfortable. Like I said, we drank too much. It's fine, I'm not deluded to the point that I'd take that as a sign that you might-”

“I hated it so much then.” Minhyuk had expected a reply with that meaning but it still somewhat hurt to hear it coming from him. Hyungwon had hated it. “I mean, there's my soulmate out there. I know my soulmate's there somewhere and I have the guts to just...just...kiss my friend? How fucked up I am for being such a douche.”

“I'm sorry I talked you into that. I thought you'd decline anyway so I just-”

“I was thinking about doing it again”, Hyungwon whispered, eyes lowered on his straw. “That's what I hated the most. But now I hear you talking here and...I didn't even think of my soulmate but was so relieved.”

Minhyuk mirrored the frown then, fingers clutching around the treats box. “Relieved?”

Hyungwon made his leg bounce up and down and nodded. “I really just hope you will not get hurt. Or feel bad. I...I don't know how to express this but I don't care if I have a soulmate out there, I...I don't want to accept it. Not now. Not when there's...you?”

Hyungwon watched as Minhyuk opened the box he had gotten so used to, the corners of his mouth raising just for a second before stopping yet again. “Min...”

“I don't know if you should say that, you've been waiting for so damn long. Don't feel pressured to-”

“No, Minhyuk, what...what is that?”

“Stop changing the topic, it's my sugar.”

“Sugar doesn't look like that.”

“You are- Ah, yeah.” Minhyuk looked at the box as he scooped a spoonful of its contents into his coffee. “I ran out of sugar but I didn't find it in me to buy new one so when I went out today I was too tired for anything so I just thought why not take peanut bu...tter...” His mouth formed a surprised 'oh', eyes darting from the box to Hyungwon and back again. “Peanut butter...in my...coffee.”

A strange feeling of betrayal about them being right in front of his eyes all this time appeared in Hyungwon's chest but was soon overwhelmed by relief, disbelief, happiness. Peanut butter and coffee. “It tastes horrible, just to warn you”, he whispered quietly, unable to take his eyes off of Minhyuk who lowered the box in shock.

“Anything to make the coffee less bitter.”

“That's it. Min, that's it.”

Minhyuk nodded a little. “The solution.”

Hyungwon pushed the coffees aside and leaned across the table to take Minhyuk's face into his hands and stare at him. Minhyuk could have sworn he saw stars twinkle in his eyes as he let out a snort and his lips spread to form a smile. “I can't believe it was actually true. My dream. It...It was about you from the very start? Curse you for making me wait for fuck's sake.”

“I-I didn't mean to-”

“Bless you for being here now though.”

Minhyuk put the peanut butter down chewing on his lower lip. “Thank you for waiting for me?”

“Took you long enough.”

“I...worried about your soulmate for nothing?”

“It's you, you idiot. It's been you this whole time and we were-”

“-stupid as fuck, waiting for things to happen.”

“Waiting...Well...You know what they say: Good things come to those who wait.”

The red-haired couldn't help smiling along, unable to put his feelings into words. “You consider this a good thing?”

Hyungwon let his thumbs caress Minhyuk's cheeks, fascination in his eyes now. Fascination and so so much happiness. He leaned in, finally succumbing to that voice that has been at the back of his head for weeks now. Their lips touched and it felt just like on that day after their stupid anime marathon. Chaste and innocent as though it was their first. Yet so much more meaningful than back then. _I found you,_ was what they were trying to tell each other and Hyungwon smiled against the other's lips as he pulled away. He wanted to do it again. And again. _You consider this a good thing?_

He nodded with his smile widening more and more until it was just as blinding as Minhyuk's.

“The best.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow my art acc on twitter and tumblr if you want to! @JesterFesta  
> I'm trying hard to become more active!


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